The Payton Thorne Slander Must Stop
After Michigan State blew out Akron, 52-0, in Week 2 of this season, I wrote an article on quarterback Payton Thorne saying it was time for the redshirt junior to prove himself, again.
Through two games, Thorne was completing just 57.7 percent of his throws and had already thrown three interceptions. This came against Western Michigan and Akron, two opponents one wouldn’t expect an experienced starting quarterback to struggle with.
In Week 3, in a loss to Washington, Thorne did exactly what was asked of him. The second-year starter threw for over 300 yards, completed a career-high 30 pass attempts (with a completion percentage north of 70 percent) and threw three touchdown passes.
“I thought he played his ass off,” offensive coordinator Jay Johnson said of Thorne. “He kept competing and he gave us opportunities … I was pleased at how things progressed and how he continued to play and fight and did some real positive things.”
Yet, even though Thorne was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise poor performance by the Spartans, I continued to see and hear calls for redshirt sophomore Noah Kim to get more snaps at quarterback.
That’s asinine.
Payton Thorne is Michigan State’s starting quarterback. Period. End of discussion.
The redshirt junior broke the school’s single-season passing touchdown record (27) last season. He threw for the third-most passing yards in a single season in school history as well, and helped lead Michigan State to 11 wins.
Kenneth Walker III may have been the focal point and the most important player for the 2021 Spartans, but Thorne was the second-most important player on MSU’s offense a season ago. And, in 2022, he’s the unquestioned leader of Michigan State’s entire team and I’d argue the most important individual player on the team.
It took time for Thorne to develop chemistry with his new No. 2 receiving option, Keon Coleman. But the pair connected nine times for 116 yards and two touchdowns in Week 3. The same chemistry is starting to develop between Thorne and transfer tight end Daniel Barker, who had seven catches for 69 yards against Washington.
That’s a natural progression. Coleman and Barker are still just getting their feet wet as starters for Michigan State. It took all of three games for the chemistry between them and Thorne to take root.
Thorne is a perfectionist. He’s been as hard on himself this season as anybody – probably more so. Even this week, talking about the loss to the Huskies, Thorne pointed to throws that he wishes he could have back.
“I thought we did some good things on offense, but we also left plays out there that should have been made,” the quarterback said.
“I had a couple of throws that I definitely want back that I think could have potentially been touchdowns. That’s disappointing. Looking back on the film, those stand out to you. You wish you could have made those plays.”
Thorne holds himself accountable. He’s also got a competitive spirit that’s second-to-none on this football team.
Early in the third quarter, with Michigan State trailing 36-14 in what had been a beyond-frustrating evening, Thorne scrambled on a 3rd-and-8 and lowered his non-throwing shoulder five yards shy of the first down marker to pick up an additional two yards.
Was that the smartest decision for your starting quarterback to make? Maybe not. Was it gritty? You bet.
“I love his competitive spirit,” Johnson said of Thorne. “It was third down and he was trying to get it. But also, in the relationship to where he was, he probably could have protected himself as well. So, it is a fine line. Obviously, if we’re in that competitive situation where we’ve got to go get it, he’s going to go do it. He has that mentality all the time.”
Thorne himself admitted that maybe that situation wasn’t the best time to lower the shoulder and fight for every inch.
“There’s times where that’s what’s called for, but there’s other times where you don’t really need to do that as a quarterback,” Thorne said. “Knowing the difference of when that it and when not to is something I know already, it’s just actually acting on it now.”
But, trailing by 22 points, in a hostile environment, on a day in which not much has gone right, with a team that holds itself to championship expectations, sometimes competitiveness just takes over.
That’s been the case for two of the four interceptions that Thorne has now thrown this season. Against Western Michigan, Thorne was trying to make an exceptional play late in the first half in the red zone. It ended up costing the Spartans at least a shot at a field goal.
Against Washington, Thorne escaped pressure in the back of his own end zone before trying to squeeze the ball into a window that didn’t exist, resulting in another pick. Johnson said both of those plays were a result of Thorne trying to do too much.
There are lessons to be learned there. Thorne knows that and has acknowledged it. But it’s not a valid reason to call for the backup quarterback.
To use Thorne’s own words: “It’s not time to freak out and go and try to change everything. That’s not it.”
The redshirt junior was referring to the offense as a whole with the above quote, but it fits in this situation as well.
I’ve been impressed with how Noah Kim has looked this year, going all the way back to Michigan State’s “spring game” back in April – but the kid has thrown the ball less than five times in his college career, and played fewer than 20 snaps this season.
“When I look at Noah, I see a very poised QB and he carries that right into the game on Saturday,” Johnson said of his backup quarterback. “He knows things very well. He’s just continued to grow, so to see him go in there and execute at that level was really good. I feel good about him and that room, and he does some good things.”
Michigan State has a capable backup behind Thorne. That’s an important development that has taken place through three weeks of the season. But this is not Noah Kim’s team.
This is Payton Thorne’s team. Period. End of discussion.
